Het moddergooien tussen Activision en Electronic Arts is weer begonnen of is het nooit geëindigd? Het omstreden kopstuk van Activision, Bobby Kotick, haalt weer eens uit naar EA. De ontwikkelaars worden volgens hem als oud vuil behandeld en om nog maar over het hypercommerciele gedrag te zwijgen.

"The core principle of how we run the company is the exact opposite of EA. EA will buy a developer and then it will become EA Florida, EA Vancouver, EA New Jersey, whatever. We always looked and said, 'You know what? What we like about the developer is that they have a culture, they have an independent vision and that's what makes them so successful'. 

We don't have an Activision anything - it's Treyarch, Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer. That, to me, is one of the unassailable rules of building a publishing company. And in every case except for two, the original founders of the studios are still running the studios today."

Kotick was in het verre verleden ook nog eens werkzaam voor EA en daar heeft hij het duidelijk niet naar zijn zin gehad;

"I've been an oppressed EA developer! The thing is, it doesn't work that way - that doesn't work. EA's DNA isn't orientated towards that model - it doesn't know how to do it, as a culture or as a company, and it never has. EA has a lot of resources, it's a big company that's been in the business for a long time - maybe it'll figure it out eventually but it's been struggling for a long time. 

"The most difficult challenge it faces today is: great people don't really want to work there. It's like, if you have no other options you might consider them. They have some - the team that makes Madden is a really great team, it's been able to manage, capture and keep some good people. Its stock options have no value, its lost its way. And until it has success and hits, and gets its enthusiasm back for the company, it's going to have a struggle getting really talented people which is going to translate into less than great games."

Ach ja, het is de zoveelste keer dat Bobby Kotick zijn onvrede uit over zijn grootste concurrent, EA. Kan hij niet eens naar zijn eigen bedrijf kijken en in goede banen leiden? Activision is naar mijn weten toch wel iets commercieler dan EA.